Closure operator



Dec. 11, 1956 v. w. KOEHLER 2,773,687

CLOSURE OPERATOR Filed Sept. 28, 1953 INVENTOR.

o .98 m as VERNON W. KOEHLER, x0

Fie]

' Venetian blinds.

United States PatentO CLOSURE OPERATOR Vernon W. Koehler, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Application September 28, 1953, Serial No. 382,711

1 Claim. (Cl. 268-21) This invention relates to closure operators and has particular reference to window structures of the type embodying a plurality of pivoted vents that are shifted to open and closed positions by conventional geared operators.

Window devices of the type commonly recognized as jalousie or awning type are usually covered and uncovered on their inner sides by the well known Venetian blinds that operate in a vertical path in close proximity to the window. The conventional geared operators for the window, usually arranged at one side of the window frame, are provided with winding handles or cranks that project inwardly for convenience and, in most cases extend into the path of vertical shifting movement of the Thus, with the blinds in the lowered position, when the window is to be opened or closed, it becomes necessary that the blinds be partially raised to expose the operator crank or, in some cases, the slats of the blind are forced apart to enable the operator to reach through to the crank, thus damaging the slats. Sudden storms are most prevalent in this area and the time necessary for a person to go from window to window to operate them to closed position can and frequently does permit water or wind damage before the windows can be closed.

With the above conditions in view, it is the primary purpose of this invention to provide means to greatly facilitate the closing and opening of the windows withcranks of the operators, a grooved pulley about which is wound a cable or cord and, since the problem is to oper: ate the windows without disturbing the blinds,-there has been provided a novel cable or cord guide whereby the cable is conducted from the pulley in a manner to pass below the lower rail of the blinds for operative disposition inwardly of the blinds and adjacent the well known window sill to be available at all times by the user by merely pulling upon either exposed end of the cable to close or open the window without interference with the blind structure, regardless of its position.

Another object of the invention resides in forming a pair of spaced apart guide tubes that are disposed in rigid relation to a window sill, either as an accessory or built into the surrounding window structure in a position whereby one end of each tube underlies the pulley and with the opposite end of each tube disposed at a point adjacent the free edge of the window sill, whereby the cable is trained from the pulley at opposite sides to be passed through the tubes and extended beyond the tubes where they are provided with pull knobs.

Novel features of construction and operation will be readily apparent by reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein has been illustrated preferred forms of the device and wherein like characters of reference are employed to denote like parts throughout the several figures.

out in any way disturbing the Venetian blinds and to this end, there has been substituted for the conventional dotted lines;

Figure 2 is a front elevation thereof;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a pair of spaced apart guide tubes for conducting an operating cable from a winding operator to a point inwardly of the window for manual control;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of a slightly modified form of the device;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the structure of Figure 4, taken substantially on line 55 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged transverse section, taken substantially on line 6-6 of Figure 3 and,

Figure 7 is a side elevation of a further modified form of the cable guide tubes.

Referring specifically to the drawings, and particularly to Figures 1, 2, 4 and 5, the numeral 10 designates a standard and well known type of window frame wherein panels are pivoted in a horizontal plane to be simultaneously shifted to open or closed position under the influence of geared winding operators 11. Figure 1 illustrates in dotted lines the well known pre-cast wall frame 12 for the mounting support of the window 10 and, installed in the usual manner, is a sill 13, usually of tile. Conventional Venetian blinds are supported inwardly of the window 10 in predetermined spaced relation and shiftably elevated and lowered in the usual manner through Venetian blind guides 14, with the Venetian blind 15 having the usual lower rail that rests upon or is slightly spaced above the sill 13 when in the fully lowered position. The structure so far described forms no part of the present invention and is merely illustrated to show the use of the invention.

The winding operator of Figures 1 and 2 is of the type wherein a shaft 16 normally supports a winding crank (not shown) and with the shaft 16 extending inwardly from the window frame at a right angle to the frame. Fixedly keyed or splined upon the shaft 16 in any desirable manner, is a grooved pulley 17, the pulley being substituted for the usual crank.

Referring now to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 6, the numeral 18 indicates as a whole, guide means for an operating cable 19. The guide means includes a pair of tubes of identical construction that are shaped to provide a vertical riser 20, a horizontal section 21 and depending legs 22. The shaping of the tubes from the risers 20 to the horizontal sections 21 and from the horizontal sections to the legs 22 are upon relatively wide arcs to facilitate the sliding therethrough of the cable 19, as will be presently described. The tubes are rigidly connected together by a preferably integral web 23 that is apertured at 24 Y for the passage of fastening means, such as screws 25. The tubes being identical in construction, are rigidly held in spaced apart and parallel relation by the web 23 and such construction permits the guide to be mounted in operative position beneath the pulley 17 with the risers 20 and legs 22 in perpendicular position. The spacing of the tubes has been calculated to cause the upper ends of the risers 20 to be axially aligned with the cable 19 leading from the pulley. The opposite end of each tube is formed open and flared at 26 to prevent frictional and wearing contact with the cable. The cable guide may be formed of metal, plastic or any other desirable material and finished in various color combinations to harmonize with the adjacent wall or sill colors.

The use of the structure so far described is as follows:

When the device is to be installed during the construction of the building, the

18 is rigidly connected to the ,iabase portion of the-frame'lZ by the screws "25 and in a po ion. here t e. risers 20 w l ev dispo c aq urat y beneath the point of location of the shaft 16 of the operator 11. In this position, the legs 22 will be disposed outwardly of the finished wall of the building andgbelow 1 e ?sill --13. Uponq-completiontofltheinstallatiomof the T' -,wi-ndow.-;10 and sill lS, the-pulley 17 is engaged with the g shafit 161-and fiXed theretoibyaset screw-{or othermeans.

The cable 19 is then wrapped about the pulley; preferably in one full loop,- and its free ends then trainedthrough the ;,tubes ofthe guide :18 untilttheir ends project below the lowemopen endsof thelegs 22. ,Suitablepull knobs 27 t..-are ,then connected-to the cable ends to facilitateptheir operation. Thus, when the window is,to be'closed or opened, ,,the ioperator, pulls upon the proper. knob 27,

causing the "cable end to shift downwardlyby: sliding ithro ghits particulartubefor rotating. the pulley'17 and, through the usual and well knowngearing of theioperator 11, actuateslthe windowin .theidirection desired. The

stalled in themannerillu'strated in dotted'lines in Figure l.

Under these conditions, the same pulley is employed "and :the same guide is employed. jHowever, the operator first places the. guide in, proper position upon the sill 13,Lmarks fth e point 'of the screw'openin'gs 24 and'then' drills suitable openings through the tile for the insertions of plugs or sir'ni1ar;m'eans' whereby the screws 25: may be firmlyseated.

I'The guide having been installed as in dotted lines, will dis'pose the 'horizontalsections 21 to pass under the lower rail of the'venetianfblind with the legs '22 disposed inwardly of the free .edgeof .the isill. The cable 19' is then "installed as beforeand"th e operationof the window is "identical without disturbing the'Yenetian blinds. V

In some forms of winding"operators,.'the-"shaft 16 is *disposedatan-angle with respect to the" window 10. To -provide='forthiscontingency; one'of the tubes are offset inwardly toward the window in order that the tube ends I shall be accurately disp'osedbene'ath the pulley 17which, in this-case is ang'ularlyarrangech asin Figures 4 and 5.

" Inal'l other'respects and operation, the device is identical.

Figure 7 illustrates a-fu'rther modifiedform of the in- -vention and, in-fthis form,;the guide 18'compri-ses a pair of identical guide tubes 28,- having-vertical risers-29 "and horizontal sections 30. This iormbf the-device is de *sira'ble where the projection of; the device inwardly of the "respects, the construction and operationofthis form of isthe y m n i he sa It will therefore be clearly apparent, that a very simple and novel means has been provided to actuate closure devices without interference from the Venetian blinds. The shaping of the tubes insure of an easy sliding movement of the cable with relatively little friction and results in a very considerable saving in time when it becomes necessary to close oropen'the windows. The device is simple in construction, strong, durable, cheap to manufacture and install and is highly efiective for the purpose intended.

-Itis'to be understoodthat changes in the structure may be made as readily'falls within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the s'ubjoined claim.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A closure operator for panel type windows wherein a r :plurality of panels are simultaneously shifted to open or closed position under the influence of a gearedoperator having a shaft, a grooved pulley fixedupon the-shafhthe pulley being vertically arranged and at an -angle 'with respect to the window, a cable wrapped about thepulley andvhaving extended ends depending therefrom at opposite sides of the pulley, a cable guide device that is rigidly,'supported adjacent the window, and the geared i operator, the guide device comprising a pair of'spaced i apart "and parallel tubes rigidly connected together by an attaching web,- the tubes embodying horizontal sections that are in the same horizontal plane and that are bent "upwardly 'at 'onee'nd toform a pair of risers open attheir .I ends, theris'ers being offset with respect to each other whereby their open ends underlie theaxial center of the dependingcables from the pulley, the opposite'e'nds of the horizontal sections being bent downwardly at a right angle to provide tubular legs thatare in the samevertical f"pla'ne, the'ext'ended cableends slidably passing through the tubesto project to a point below the ends ofthe legs and withthe' free end of each cable end provided with a 1 pull kfiob,the' guide conducting the cable ends to a point I of "operation remote from the geared operatorwhereby sill 13 is objectionable and, when this device is installed,

the geared operator may be rotated by the pulley under the iiifluence of a manual actuation of the cable.

I? References Cited in the file of thispatent 

